Maison Corail

Maison Corail is located just across the Gulf of Saint-Tropez from the famous town. It is a prestigious area with stunning views, a fabulous array of restaurants, cafés and bars and a soothing air of calm. You can even take a parasailing trip to enjoy the dramatic Les Maures mountain range and the Esterel red rocks. Sainte-Maxime is a fabulous place with over 11km of fine sandy beaches and crystal clear, turquoise waters where you can try your hand at water skiing, jet skiing, paddle boards, fly boards and some inflatables. You will discover a lively square where you can enjoy supper under plane trees, enjoying the warm and welcoming ambience that Sainte-Maxime is so proud of. There are six public beaches close by, idyllic settings for a relaxing holiday and gourmet break. The historical town centre offers a warren of cobbled lanes lined with unique shops, monuments and fantastic gastro restaurants. There are some wonderful festivals and events including the Sainte-Maxime Free Flight World Masters, the Var Rally, the Mimosa Floral Parade, Christmas and New Year festivities and various trade shows.

Saint Tropez came to fame in the 1950s with Brigitte Bardot starring in the 1956 ‘And God Created Woman’. Overnight, Saint-Tropez became a sizzling jet-set playground though in low season the town still enjoys its mesmerising quaint beauty and visitors meander its cobbled lanes in the old fishing quarter of La Ponche, sip Pastis in charming cafés, watch old men playing pétanque beneath towering plane trees and walk slowly along the coastal paths. Long before Brigitte Bardot’s time, Saint Tropez was attracting artists and becoming the summer exhibition of Paris’ Left Bank. The likes of Picasso, Juliette Greco, Boris Vian and Sartre were arriving. The picturesque peninsula boasts beautiful olive groves and rugged coastal hikes and is now home to exclusive beach clubs, hipster bars and yachts. A five kilometre stretch of picture postcard sand sits between the glistening Mediterranean Sea and dreamy dunes.
The Old Town of Saint Tropez, next to the Vieux Port, is a brilliant place to explore.

The 18th century Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption towers over the terracotta rooftops. The Musée de l'Annonciade is the oldest modern art museum in France, dating back to 1922. The Citadel was built between 1590 and 1607 to defend the coastline against pirates and other attackers. The simple Provençal style Chapelle Ste-Anne is located on the top of a hill in a residential area above Place des Lices. It was built in 1618 and made pop culture history in 1971 when Mick Jagger married Bianca after a civil ceremony in the Town Hall.

Saint Tropez is a shopper’s paradise, packed with trendy boutiques. The streets around Rue Gambetta and Rue Allard are sprinkled with shoe shops, chocolate shops, boutiques, antique emporiums, and art galleries. If you visit on a Tuesday or Saturday morning, you will be treated to marvellous open-air stalls at Place des Lices where you can stock up on freshly baked bread and delicious local produce. Fine wine is big in Saint Tropez. Château Barbeyrolles is one of the best vineyards in the village of Gassin. Red and white wines have been added to their delicious rose wines and visitors can taste and buy wines every day except Sundays.

The Saint-Tropez peninsula is home to numerous charming villages as well as a fantastic national park that you should explore. La Croix-Valmer, in the heart of the Saint-Tropez peninsula, is a jewel of nature nestled in the national park, an area known for its walking, cycling and mountain bike paths, its scenic landscapes, amazing fauna and flora, breathtaking views, lively Sunday market and its surrounding vineyards. La Croix-Valmer boasts two of the three caps of the Saint Tropez peninsula. Cap Lardier is the most wooded of the caps and Cap Taillat sits between Cap Lardier and Cap Camarat, the third of the caps. Visitors enjoy amazing views and can explore the vineyards and historical remains in the area. There are more than one hundred and twenty species of birds, Hermann’s turtles, European pond terrapin, ocellated lizards, cotton grasshoppers and serrated magpies. The village of La Croix-Valmer enjoys a history closely linked to the wine industry. Its weekly market is one of the most famous in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez and a brilliant place to pick up local produce and wine for Maison Corail.

The picturesque villages of Gassin and Ramatuelle are also worth visiting, with far reaching sensational views. The historic village of Gassin, known as a ‘Plus Beaux Villages de France’ and a destination of culture and walking, is perched high in the hills enjoying a fabulous medieval terrace, the Pomenade De Barri which offers exceptional views as well as some superb restaurants, an unbeatable spot for lunch. You should look out for the street called l’Androuno, claimed to be the narrowest street in the world. The delicious smell of jasmine hangs in the air throughout the village, and especially in the garden L’Hardy-Denonain. The new town of Gassin, designed by François Spoerry, has been built below the medieval village and was awarded a prize for the best new town in Europe. Finally, the lovely Port Grimaud, very close to the villa, is reminiscent of Venice.

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